Periscope, Meerkat Get NHL Banhammer

The NHL isn't happy about people live-streaming its events, and so it has given both Meerkat and Periscope the banhammer, at least to the extent it is able to. This includes any live-streaming that starts 30 minutes before the beginning of an event or less, the event itself, and the end of the event. It's not surprising that the NHL has its own Periscope account, and that it doesn't like attendees eating into its revenue by doing their own illicit streaming.

Both Meerkat and Periscope are live-streaming apps that allow users to easily stream live footage to whomever they'd like to see it, and that includes sports games they happen to be at. Some have criticized the apps, saying they'll make it easy to live-stream movies that are still in the theater and other things that aren't authorized for public broadcast.

The NHL obviously shares those concerns, with its Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly saying in a memo, "Without limiting the generality of the credential language, any streaming of footage in violation of the NHL's Broadcast Guidelines (including, for example, live-streaming inside the arena less than 30 minutes before the start of the game) and Media Access Policy is expressly prohibited."

It won't be surprising to see others also officially ban the live streaming of events, but the reasons likely have more to do with wanting viewers to watch official streams rather than any significant dent in revenues.

SOURCE: Mashable